COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course traces and analyzes the major cultural, political, religious, and social themes of American history from the era of post-Civil War Reconstruction to the present. Throughout the course we will attempt to view these developments from a variety of perspectives, focusing not just on politicians and statesmen, but also on the experiences of "ordinary" Americans of diverse backgrounds in all regions of the nation. Its organizing principle is to examine the consequences of our nation’s commitment to securing liberty, equality, and justice for its citizens and to assess how well we have done in realizing such an ambitious goal. Students will be expected to master rudimentary information about the American past. Emphasis, however, shall be placed on using this knowledge to make historical arguments in class discussions and on exams. Thus the course is designed to introduce students not only to subject of U.S. history, but to the discipline of history itself with its distinctive modes of inquiry and interpretation.
This course traces and analyzes the major cultural, political, religious, and social themes of American history from the era of post-Civil War Reconstruction to the present. Throughout the course we will attempt to view these developments from a variety of perspectives, focusing not just on politicians and statesmen, but also on the experiences of "ordinary" Americans of diverse backgrounds in all regions of the nation. Its organizing principle is to examine the consequences of our nation’s commitment to securing liberty, equality, and justice for its citizens and to assess how well we have done in realizing such an ambitious goal. Students will be expected to master rudimentary information about the American past. Emphasis, however, shall be placed on using this knowledge to make historical arguments in class discussions and on exams. Thus the course is designed to introduce students not only to subject of U.S. history, but to the discipline of history itself with its distinctive modes of inquiry and interpretation.